Me and my wife are going to be in Switzerland for 5 days in November. We are working on an itinerary. We are fast paced travelers and love to fit as much in as possible. We love hiking and smaller towns. We are thinking towns like Lucerne, interlakin, and possibly Zermatt. Wanted to see your thoughts and experiences are! Thanks in advance!
Posted by
Green Bay
21145 posts
Not the ideal time to go Switzerland. Many lifts are down for maintenance for the upcoming ski season. Good chance that any hiking trails in the mountains will have snow and ice on them. There could even be some extremely nasty weather. Luzern and Interlaken should be fine, but with only 5 days, I would not consider Zermatt.
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
6462 posts
I think November is iffy weather for Switzerland. Not fall, not winter. Often no snow. Sometimes we have to go in less optimal times, however. I think I would spend 2 nights in Luzern and 3 in lauterbrunnen/Murren/Wengen. I would have some day trips to cities in your back pocket if weather is not to your liking. Bern from either Lauterbrunnen or Luzern, Basel from Luzern.
Or you could play it safe and split your time between Luzern and Lausanne/Montreux. If you end up with winter, you could do mountain day trips from either city. If not, you could do day trips to other cities.
Posted by
USA
62 posts
Definitely Lucerne. Charming old town area and peaks/hiking if weather permits (which is highly variable and you cannot really plan in advance except looking at annual averages for a general idea). You could stay 5 days in Lucerne and be happy - even for active travelers there is a lot to do for many days that will keep you active. Would not recommend Interlaken or Zermatt at that time of year.
Posted by
The Heartland USA
8967 posts
Five days is not a lot of time. Where you are entering and departing Switzerland would make a difference in itinerary to me. Just getting from one place to another takes a lot of that precious time.